Gukesh D Secures Joint Lead After Victory Over Harikrishna at Tata Steel Chess
Newly crowned chess world champion Gukesh Dommaraju has taken the joint lead by defeating Pentala Harikrishna in 46 moves in the 7th round of the Tata Steel chess tournament. Harikrishna was part of Team Gukesh when the 18-year-old Gukesh defeated Singapore's Ding Liren to become the youngest world champion in the history of chess in November-December. Harikrishna and Gukesh were also teammates in the Indian team that won the gold medal at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest last year.
Harikrishna, in fact, is the second member of Team Gukesh to be defeated by the 18-year-old at the Tata Steel chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee.
Gukesh had also defeated German GM Vincent Keymer earlier in the tournament. So far, Gukesh has drawn four games and won three. Gukesh is currently at the top with compatriot Praggnanandhaa and Uzbek arch-rival Nodirbek Abdusattorov, whom he defeated in the sixth round to avoid a tough draw. All three players have 5-5 points after 7 games and there are still six more rounds left. Now Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa will face each other in Round 8.
Talking about facing Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh said,
"It's going to be a great game. All of us youngsters will play many games against each other and every game will be exciting. It's going to be a fun game. "
Magnus Carlsen described the Tata Steel chess tournament in the Dutch village of Wijk aan Zee as a 'detox for the soul', as it gave him the opportunity to focus on chess. Gukesh agreed, saying,
"It's good, you look out the window and you don't see anybody. And you don't find that in India. This change is good and it's fun to play with. It has a special place in my heart. "